[ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]J Street[ [link removed] ]
This week: Fighting West Bank Setter Violence ⚠️ | The Path Forward for
Democrats 🔵 | Who Speaks for You 📢 | The Way Forward on Syria and Lebanon
🛣️ | Save Your Seat at the J Street 2026 Convention 🎟️ | This Week's
Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

Know someone who might want to receive this weekly recap? [ [link removed] ]They can
subscribe here! >>

⚠️ Fighting West Bank Setter Violence: The annual olive harvest – an
economic lifeline for many Palestinian families – is underway in the West
Bank, as are increasing attacks from violent settlers. 

* Settler and soldier violence against Palestinian civilians has surged
in the West Bank since October 7, with little let-up since the
ceasefire. Those who kill and injure Palestinians are rarely held to
account, with soldiers often acting as security for extremist settlers
as they carry out attacks. This year’s attacks have been so serious
that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli President Isaac Herzog
have been pressed to speak out, [ [link removed] ]describing the violence as
“shocking and serious.” 

* “On the days we commemorate the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht,
there are Israeli citizens who are carrying out pogrom-like attacks
against Palestinians – burning homes and cars, beating Palestinians
and Jewish solidarity activists, killing sheep and dogs, and even
murdering people," writes former IDF Officer and J Street Israel
Director Nadav Tamir. [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

The West Bank Violence Prevention Act just passed 100 cosponsors in the
House. [ [link removed] ]Call your Member of Congress and urge them to support sanctions
on violent settlers who undermine peace >>

🔵 The Path Forward for Democrats: Democrats won big in races across the
country last Tuesday – but they still have significant ground to cover if
they have any chance at taking back the House or Senate in 2026. J Street
President Jeremy Ben-Ami and Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg sat down
with political strategist Michael Podhorzer to unpack the results.

[ [link removed] ]ALT TEXT FOR IMAGE

* “What these alienated voters hear is that their choice is between a
fascist and someone who's defending the system that screwed them over.
And so you need someone who's not complicit in that [...] The way to
change the Democratic Party is to have more Democrats who are
different and who are going to be aggressive in fighting for what
people want,” said Podhozer. [ [link removed] ]Watch the full conversation here >>

* “If the goal is to defeat Trump – and Trumpism – and to save democracy
as we know it, the path to victory can’t be to purify and narrow the
Democratic Party. The challenge is to grow it. Grow it geographically.
Grow it socially. Grow it culturally. Grow it generationally. Grow it
into something big and messy enough to win the power to govern,”
Jeremy said. [ [link removed] ]Read the full piece here >>

📢 Who Speaks for You? In the past two years, many Jewish Americans
distanced themselves from establishment organizations like AIPAC and the
ADL that demanded unwavering support for an increasingly undemocratic
Israeli government while sacrificing core organizational goals. Jeremy
Ben-Ami discussed this dangerous shift in an email to supporters this
week:

* “I’ve been especially troubled to see the organization minimize
incidents involving Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and even recently
remove the entire ‘Protect Civil Rights’ section from its website.
This pick-and-choose approach has allowed some on the American right
to weaponize charges of antisemitism as a pretext for ideological
attacks on higher education, immigration and the rule of law – with
little pushback from organizations meant to be representing our
values," Jeremy wrote.

🛣️ The Way Forward on Syria and Lebanon: Ahead of Syrian President Ahmed
al-Sharaa’s historic visit to the White House, the J Street Policy Center
hosted regional experts Ibrahim Al-Assil and Jasmine El-Gamal to discuss
what Sharaa’s rise means for the future of US foreign policy.

* “Counterterrorism cooperation has already been ongoing between the US
and the al-Sharaa administration […] Bringing Syria formally into the
Defeat ISIS Coalition is a natural progression of work that’s already
underway,” Jasmine said in discussing US-Syria security cooperation. 

* “None of the countries in the Abraham Accords have been at war with
Israel. This (Syria-Israel) is a completely different situation […]
but a healthy security deal to de-escalate […] is in everybody’s
interest,” Jasmine added in reference to the opportunity for diplomacy
between Syria and Israel. [ [link removed] ]Watch the full conversation here >>

🎟️ Save Your Seat at the J Street 2026 Convention: From working to lock in
this ceasefire to fighting for our democracy at the ballot box, J Street’s
work has never been more important. 

* Our 2026 Convention will feature pro-peace leaders from Israel and
Palestine, pro-democracy champions in the House and Senate, and
challengers looking to defeat MAGA incumbents up and down the ballot.
Don't miss out on the largest gathering of our pro-Israel, pro-peace,
pro-democracy movement next year! [ [link removed] ]Learn more and register here >>

📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens:

* [ [link removed] ]There Is No Cease-Fire in the West Bank
"Since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, over 1,000 Palestinians in the
West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers; one in
every five dead is a child,” writes Mairav Zonszein in the New York
Times.

* [ [link removed] ]It's Not a 'Hasbara Failure' to Seek Justice for Palestinian
Detainees Sexually Abused by IDF Soldiers
"The central issue here is not a whistleblowing scandal, and I'm going
to speak frankly: The issue is rape," Margo Hughes-Robinson writes in
Haaretz. 

* [ [link removed] ]The Gaza Plan Needs Fleshing Out Quickly
"With a detailed roadmap, clarity over implementation, Palestinian-led
governance and the two-state destination, based on UN Security Council
resolutions and the principles of the Arab Peace Initiative, the
vision may yet evolve into something genuinely historic: a credible
path to peace and security,” writes former Israeli Security Chief Ami
Ayalon in The Economist.

* [ [link removed] ]What Reconstructing Gaza Really Means
“Leadership means taking responsibility – investing in hospitals,
prosthetics, and rehabilitation centers, say, rather than in
propaganda. It means securing the peace, however fragile, not just
with handshakes and press conferences but with actions that confer
legitimacy and inspire hope,” writes Samer Sinijlawi in The Atlantic.

🗳️ Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:

[14][ ] [ [link removed] ]Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >>

[16][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Stop Demolitions in Umm al-Khair >>

[18][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: No Excuses. Aid Must Flow Freely. >>

[20][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Give Voice to Our Community: No Return to Gaza War >>

[22][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Support the West Bank Violence Prevention Act
>>

[24][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Order J Street Merch >>

[26][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at
JStreetPAC.org >>

[ [link removed] ]subscribe button

 💡 More Resources:

* Follow us on Social:

* [ [link removed] ]Instagram
* [ [link removed] ]Facebook
* [ [link removed] ]BlueSky
* [ [link removed] ]Threads
* [ [link removed] ]X
* [ [link removed] ]TikTok

* Watch our Webinars and Listen to our Podcast:

* [ [link removed] ]YouTube
* [ [link removed] ]Spotify
* [ [link removed] ]Apple Podcasts

* Read More on Our Website:

* [ [link removed] ]JStreet.org
* [ [link removed] ]J Street Policy Center
* [ [link removed] ]J Street U
* [ [link removed] ]J Street Israel


[ [link removed] ]MAKE A ONE-TIME DONATION »
[ [link removed] ]MAKE A MONTHLY RECURRING DONATION »
[ [link removed] ]Threads [ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Instagram [ [link removed] ]Twitter
© 2025 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]